I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 590 

To foster civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies and enhance the licensing and commercial deployment of such 

technologies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 20, 2017 

Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. MICHAEL

F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. HUDSON, and Mr. TONKO) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To foster civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies and enhance the licensing and 

commercial deployment of such technologies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Nuclear 

5 Technology Development Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Nuclear energy generates approximately 20 

2 percent of the total electricity and approximately 60 

3 percent of the carbon-free electricity of the United 

4 States. 

5 (2) Nuclear power plants operate consistently at 

6 a 90 percent capacity factor, and provide consumers 

7 and businesses with reliable and affordable elec8 tricity. 

9 (3) Nuclear power plants generate billions of 

10 dollars in national economic activity through nation11 wide procurements and provide thousands of Ameri12 cans with high paying jobs contributing substantially 

13 to the local economies in communities where they 

14 operate. 

15 (4) The United States commercial nuclear in16 dustry must continue to lead the international civil17 ian nuclear marketplace, because it is one of our 

18 most powerful national security tools, guaranteeing 

19 the safe, secure, and exclusively peaceful use of nu20 clear energy. 

21 (5) Maintaining the Nation’s nuclear fleet of 

22 commercial light water reactors and expanding the 

23 use of new advanced reactor designs would support 

24 continued production of reliable baseload electricity 


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1 and maintain United States global leadership in nu2 clear power. 

3 (6) Nuclear fusion technology also has the po4 tential to generate electricity with significantly in5 creased safety performance and no radioactive waste. 

6 (7) The development of advanced reactor de7 signs would benefit from a performance-based, risk8 informed, efficient, and cost-effective regulatory 

9 framework with defined milestones and the oppor10 tunity for applicants to demonstrate progress 

11 through Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

15 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ means— 

16 (A) a nuclear fission reactor with signifi17 cant improvements over the most recent genera18 tion of nuclear fission reactors, which may in19 clude inherent safety features, lower waste 

20 yields, greater fuel utilization, superior reli21 ability, resistance to proliferation, and increased 

22 thermal efficiency; or 

23 (B) a nuclear fusion reactor. 

24 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

25 means the Department of Energy. 


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1 (3) LICENSING.—The term ‘‘licensing’’ means 

2 NRC activities related to reviewing applications for 

3 licenses, permits, and design certifications, and re4 quests for any other regulatory approval for nuclear 

5 reactors within the responsibilities of the NRC under 

6 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 

7 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na8 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

9 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801). 

11 (5) NRC.—The term ‘‘NRC’’ means the Nu12 clear Regulatory Commission. 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Energy. 

15 SEC. 4. AGENCY COORDINATION. 

16 The NRC and the Department shall enter into the 

17 a memorandum of understanding regarding the following 

18 topics: 

19 (1) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—Ensuring that 

20 the Department has sufficient technical expertise to 

21 support the civilian nuclear industry’s timely re22 search, development, demonstration, and commercial 

23 application of safe, innovative advanced reactor tech24 nology and the NRC has sufficient technical exper25 tise to support the evaluation of applications for liVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Jan 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H590.IH H590

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1 censes, permits, and design certifications, and other 

2 requests for regulatory approval for advanced reac3 tors. 

4 (2) MODELING AND SIMULATION.—The use of 

5 computers and software codes to calculate the behav6 ior and performance of advanced reactors based on 

7 mathematical models of their physical behavior. 

8 (3) FACILITIES.—Ensuring that the Depart9 ment maintains and develops the facilities to enable 

10 the civilian nuclear industry’s timely research, devel11 opment, demonstration, and commercial application 

12 of safe, innovative reactor technology and ensuring 

13 that the NRC has access to such facilities, as need14 ed. 

15 SEC. 5. ADVANCED REACTOR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK. 

16 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the NRC shall transmit 

18 to Congress a plan for developing an efficient, risk-in19 formed, technology-neutral framework for advanced reac20 tor licensing. The plan shall evaluate the following sub21 jects, consistent with the NRC’s role in protecting public 

22 health and safety and common defense and security: 

23 (1) The unique aspects of advanced reactor li24 censing and any associated legal, regulatory, and 


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1 policy issues the NRC will need to address to de2 velop a framework for licensing advanced reactors. 

3 (2) Options for licensing advanced reactors 

4 under existing NRC regulations in title 10 of the 

5 Code of Federal Regulations, a proposed new regu6 latory framework, or a combination of these ap7 proaches. 

8 (3) Options to expedite and streamline the li9 censing of advanced reactors, including opportunities 

10 to minimize the time from application submittal to 

11 final NRC licensing decision and minimize the 

12 delays that may result from any necessary amend13 ments or supplements to applications. 

14 (4) Options to expand the incorporation of con15 sensus-based codes and standards into the advanced 

16 reactor regulatory framework to minimize time to 

17 completion and provide flexibility in implementation. 

18 (5) Options to make the advanced reactor li19 censing framework more predictable. This evaluation 

20 should consider opportunities to improve the process 

21 by which application review milestones are estab22 lished and maintained. 

23 (6) Options to allow applicants to use phased 

24 review processes under which the NRC issues ap25 provals that do not require the NRC to re-review 


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1 previously approved information. This evaluation 

2 shall consider the NRC’s ability to review and condi3 tionally approve partial applications, early design in4 formation, and submittals that contain design cri5 teria and processes to be used to develop information 

6 to support a later phase of the design review. 

7 (7) The extent to which NRC action or modi8 fication of policy is needed to implement any part of 

9 the plan required by this subsection. 

10 (8) The role of licensing advanced reactors 

11 within NRC long-term strategic resource planning, 

12 staffing, and funding levels. 

13 (9) Options to provide cost-sharing financial 

14 structures for license applicants in a phased licens15 ing process. 

16 (b) COORDINATION AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT RE17 QUIRED.—In developing the plan required by subsection 

18 (a), the NRC shall seek input from the Department, the 

19 nuclear industry, and other public stakeholders. 

20 (c) COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATE.—The plan re21 quired by subsection (a) shall include proposed cost esti22 mates, budgets, and specific milestones for implementing 

23 the advanced reactor regulatory framework by September 

24 30, 2019. 


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1 (d) DESIGN CERTIFICATION STATUS.—In the NRC’s 

2 first budget request after the acceptance of any design cer3 tification application for an advanced nuclear reactor, and 

4 annually thereafter, the NRC shall provide the status of 

5 performance metrics and milestone schedules. The budget 

6 request shall include a plan to correct or recover from any 

7 milestone schedule delays, including delays because of 

8 NRC’s inability to commit resources for its review of the 

9 design certification applications. 

10 SEC. 6. USER FEES AND ANNUAL CHARGES. 

11 Section 6101(c)(2)(A) of the Omnibus Budget Rec12 onciliation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 2214(c)(2)(A)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (iii); 

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

16 (iv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(v) for fiscal years ending before Oc19 tober 1, 2020, amounts appropriated to 

20 the Commission for activities related to the 

21 development of regulatory infrastructure 

22 for advanced nuclear reactor tech23 nologies.’’. 

Æ 


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